Chapter 19 Introduction There is a "Changshu star" in the sky

Many people know "Shajiabang", but not Changshu. In fact, "Shajiabang" refers to Changshu.Changshu has had an important influence on modern China and even the entire Chinese nation and its 5,000-year history of civilization. Weng Tonghe (Weng tong he, 1830~1904), the "First Mentor of the Reformation" (Kang Youwei's words) who opened the "Hundred Years of Reform" that opened the epic of modern Chinese reform nearly a hundred years ago was from Changshu. "The face of E'e Changshu, hollowing out the universe." This native of Changshu has been proud of his fellow villagers for more than a hundred years.Weng Tonghe, the number one scholar in the Qing Dynasty and a scholar of two generations of emperors, took advantage of his special status to recommend Kang Youwei and persuade Emperor Guangxu to "start from the fundamental changes in internal affairs and make the world's bad governance" become the standard bearer of the reform. His meritorious achievements, compared to Ouyang Xiu in politics, and Sima Guang's talent in writing, he was expelled from the capital by the Empress Dowager Cixi and returned to Changshu.

As far as the Kaiyuan period of the Chinese nation, there was a sage who was recorded in "Zuo Zhuan" and "Historical Records". His name was Yu Zhong, also known as Zhong Yong, and he was the second son of Zhou Taiwang at the end of Shang Dynasty.In the royal family at that time, Yu Zhong won the hearts of the people because of his proficiency in literature and martial arts and his loyalty and hard work.But Tai Wang liked his youngest son Ji Li's son Chang (later King Wen of Zhou) to inherit the great cause of Shang and Zhou.After Yu Zhong understood it, he persuaded his elder brother Taibo to obey his father's will and let the country abstain from the throne. In the name of collecting medicine, he traveled thousands of miles from the Weishui River Basin to Changshu and Wuxi, which were still the land of Jingman at that time.Later, Changshun succeeded to the throne and made the Chinese nation have a long history of prosperity.However, Yu Zhong and his elder brother, who are princes, "cut off their tattoos" in the barren wilderness around the south of the Yangtze River, cultivated fields and controlled water, and won the support and attachment of the people. With the long and great cause of Jiangnan Soochow.After Yu Zhong's death, he was buried on the top of the mountain near Changshu City, so the mountain was named "Yu Mountain".Mount Yu is a famous mountain in the south of the Yangtze River.

Urge Yong to follow Bo's family and let the country come to Jingman.If you speak out and ask for self-destruction, the people's traces will eventually be forgotten.Duan Wei ruled Gou Wu, his descendants Lie Xiongfan... This virtue of Yu Zhong has been praised through the ages. When it comes to the founder of Gouwu in the south of the Yangtze River, we have to mention another Changshu native who created Soochow culture.He is the scholar Yanzi (that is, Ziyou).According to legend, this Changshu student named Yan Ziyou was the only southerner among the 3,000 disciples of Confucius in Kyushu.It is recorded in the book: Yan Yan is diligent and studious, and is good at literature. He was appreciated by Confucius. He used to be the governor of Wucheng. Like it.Yan Yan returned from his studies to the south, and his Taoism enlightened the southeast, and was revered as the "Master of the South" by later generations.In the eighth year of Kaiyuan in the Tang Dynasty, Yanzi ranked ninth among the ten philosophers.Is it because of this that later generations called scholars "Old Nine"?However, the "father of reading" was born in Changshu, which has played a vital role in the people's love of reading for thousands of years.

In the small town of Changshu, there have been 9 prime ministers, 8 champions and 481 Jinshi in history, which is something the local people have always been proud of.His achievements should be attributed to the studious legacy of the ancestors. Knowing a bit of the history and special cultural heritage here will be of great benefit to our understanding of the outstanding achievements of Changshu people today and how they have done this rather than that on many issues—just like we explore the United States. , Japan, Singapore and other countries have developed a serious attitude. There is such a story in "Changshu City Chronicle":

It is said that Confucius was worried about the behavior of students from all over the world in his later years, so he drove a carriage to the south to inspect Yanzi's virtue.One day, Confucius came to the "Shili Pavilion" in the southwestern suburb of Changshu. It was hot summer and the road was extremely hot.He looked around and saw a shirtless boy catching snails in the nearby river, so he got out of the car and asked with a smile, "How far is it to the city?" , Singing in a clear and orderly manner in the mouth: "The bowl is the crown, the water is the clothes, this is ten miles to Qinchuan." (Changshu City was named Qinchuan in ancient times).After hearing this, Confucius thought to himself: "The children here are so knowledgeable and respectful, which shows that the literary style here is prosperous. Why should I go to take care of Ziyou?" So he turned back to Shandong with a whip.

More than 2,000 years have passed, and I think that if the sage Confucius could visit Changshu again today, he would definitely be "drunk listening to the music" and "come in a light car".Like all the people who are attracted to the city, I started the "Trip to Changshu" by the charm of a "New Wuge"—— If you want to come, come to Changshu, the mountains are green and the swallows are flying high; If you want to come, come to Changshu. There are outstanding people and beautiful places. If you want to come, come to Changshu, the reform is thunderous;

If you want to come, come to Changshu, open up and add brilliance. Come to Changshu, enjoy the taste, and you will be even more drunk when you come again in the future; ... This is Changshu - the beauty of songs, the beauty of fields, the beauty of mountains, the beauty of Sichuan, and the beauty of people. This is Changshu - it borders Shanghai to the east, Wuxi to the west, Suzhou to the south and Zhangjiagang to the north.The history of civilization of three or four thousand years makes its history almost the same as the ancient city of Suzhou. "Original scorpion is different in soil. Although there are floods and droughts, it cannot be generalized as a disaster, but it will be very old." Changshu is named Changshu from this.Yang Bei, a great poet in the Song Dynasty, once sang loudly about this place name that people can hear its richness and harvest without having to taste it: "The county court has no lawsuits and the countryside is rich, and Changshu fields are harvested every year." Since the Southern Song Dynasty , my country's economic center has shifted from the Central Plains to the southern Jiangsu region, and Changshu, located in the hinterland of southern Jiangsu, has always been the richest man in this center, and is known as "Su Changshu, the foot of the world".There are historical records: During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, Changshu ranked first among the state capitals in the country with "actual expropriation of 400,000 shi per square meter and 200,000 silver taels of land expropriation".

In fact, even in the nearly half century since the founding of the Republic, among many counties and cities in southern Jiangsu, Changshu people have always ranked first in terms of grain sold to the state and fiscal revenue paid. This kind of contribution can only be made in Changshu—whether in southern Jiangsu or even the whole country. On April 14, 1997, the "People's Daily" published a message in a prominent position: The Jiangsu Provincial Government recently announced the evaluation results of 162 indicators for the well-off level of 64 counties (cities) in the province, showing that Changshu ranked first. .

This news provides us with such information, that is: 10 years ago, Jiangsu Province was the province with the highest level of well-off in the country. The first place in the (city) level!Changshu has always been ranked among the top ten counties and cities in the country. Changshu shouldn't have attracted the attention of the world just because of the song "Shajiabang".Maybe it was influenced by Yu Zhong's virtue of "giving up the country", maybe it was the legacy of Cheng Yan Ziqian's learning and enterprising spirit, maybe it was Shanghai in the east, Suzhou in the south, Wuxi in the west, Zhangjiagang in the north, and others like Kunshan and Wujiang. After the "little tigers" have been too glamorous over the years, the sound of Changshu, the "Pearl of Fortune", seems to no longer "rumble" in front of the Chinese people as in the past... However, history does not depend on the level of a certain "note" Talking about heroes, when we look back at Changshu through the colorful hallucinations and various noises, we feel awe-inspiring: the descendants of the sage Yu Zhong and Yan Zi have not only never stopped Clanging steps, and walking more and more powerful.It's just that during such a journey, their legs are more solid and full of the characteristics of Changshu people.Their footsteps are already on the journey to a moderately developed country or even a higher level...

Yesterday's Confucius was right not to enter Changshu City.If today's sages don't look at Changshu people, it will be a historic mistake. I don't know whether it is to repay the wish of the sage Confucius more than 2,000 years ago, or to thank the years for the special preference for Changshu people. In October 1995, a group of scientists from the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences gathered together impassionedly, discussing the same topic.They jointly proposed to dedicate the newly discovered unusually shiny planet numbered "3221" to the people of Changshu who have made special contributions to China's construction of the four modernizations, and named it "Changshu Star".

Since then, the "Changshu Star" shining with special light on the sky, and the Changshu Star in our world, complement each other...